House Guest
by Lalaith Rana
Summary: Sonny's mom goes back to Wisconsin, leaving Sonny in the apartment by herself. She's ecstatic until a storm hits. When no one answers her calls for help except for Chad. Will romance ensue or will Chad get thrown back out into the storm?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Just a quick note from me. This is my first SWAC fanfiction so I hope you all enjoy it! Also, please review! I love hearing from everyone, whether it's good or bad reviews. Constructive criticism is appreciated, as are all ideas that you have. I tend to get writers block a lot so really, anything you'd like to see happen, let me know!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonny With a Chance. Now on with the story! :D**

**House Guest**

_Dear Diary,_

_ I've been at _So Random!_ for three years now. It doesn't seem possible, but I'm turning 18 in just one month. Tawni told me today that she's planning something big. It's weird how close we've become. I guess when you're the only two teenage girls on a show it's hard to avoid at least some level of friendship. Zora has even been growing on me some now that she's grown too big for the vents. She's stopped pranking so much, not altogether, like last week's stunt she pulled on Nico and Grady with the fro-yo machine, but mostly she focuses on the cast of _Mackenzie Falls_. And, I have to say, I'm completely okay with that. Chad comes rushing in here every time to yell at her so I get to see him more often…_

_ No. Not like that. Of course not. No, I like it because I get to see him covered in all sorts of embarrassing things all the time. The peanut butter jelly prank Zora pulled was genius. He looked so delicious… I really need to stop writing about Chad or I'll start talking about his gorgeous blue eyes…_

_ That's the only part of the egotistical jerk that's gorgeous though. I admit, he has nice eyes, but he knows it, too, and he uses them against me. It seems like every time I see him he stares at me until I get lost in them and completely forget why I was yelling at him to begin with. Once I even started to wish he would kiss me, which, if it wasn't for his big blue eyes, I would never even think. Because I definitely do want him to kiss me. Wait, no. NOT. I do NOT want Chad Dylan Cooper to kiss me._

_ Whatever! You know what I mean. And now I have to go rehearse in a couple minutes. I need to get Chad's eyes out of my head._

_ -Allison Monroe_

I sighed and closed my diary. Looking around, I made sure that no one would see me put it in my super secret hiding place. I jumped up off the sofa and ran to my vanity. Quickly, I opened a drawer and pulled out a book – Jane Austen's Seven Novels – and opened the cover. The book is hollow, allowing ample room for me to hide my diary inside.

Hearing heels clacking in the prop house, I stuff my diary inside and slam the cover of the fake book closed right as Tawni opened the door to their shared dressing room.

"What'cha doing?" she asked, sitting down in front of her mirror. She pulled a brush out of a drawer and began her ritual touchup before rehearsal.

"Reading." I tried to respond nonchalantly, but as good as an actress as I am, it didn't carry over to my real life. My voice went up about an octave as I shoved the book back into the drawer.

"You know, Sonny," Tawni said, no turning away from her mirror, "I've known you for three years. I know that you're lying." She put her brush down and dug some lipstick out of her makeup bag as I sputtered, trying to come up with some sort of denial.

Finished with her lipstick, Tawni finished our conversation with, "Not that I care what you were really doing. I was just trying to be nice."

As Tawni finished her makeup I tried to gather my thoughts, but still I couldn't get the blue eyed, blonde, muscular, three named jerk out of my head. Aftar a few minutes, Tawni's voice broke through my reverie, the picture in my head disappearing like a fog, "Sonny, are you ready?" she asked impatiently.

"Yeah, sorry Tawni. I was just thinking really hard."

"You should know by now not to ignore Tawni Hart." As she said her name, she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. Then, laughing, she looped her arm through mine, dragging me along to our stage.

xXxXx

By the time I made it home it was past eleven o'clock. I always end up staying at the studio later than everyone else to work on new sketches. I still feel like I have to prove myself, even though it's been three years. Anyway, all the day's thoughts are running through my head and give me plenty of inspiration. Today, though, the only inspiration in my head, was for a romance. I had walked past when Mackenzie Falls was filming and was reminded of my obsession with the show and how it lead to Chad and my first and second first dates. When we saw how our cast mates reacted though, we decided it wouldn't work no matter how much we wanted it to, at least not until they matured a little bit more. I let Zora, Nico, and Grady talk me into hating him again. Tawni, surprisingly, hadn't said one bad thing about 'CDC' since that day.

I pulled my car into my parking space outside of the apartment. Grabbing my bag of stuff from the backseat I closed the door and pressed the button on the key fob to lock it. Satisfied once I heard the click of the locks I made my wait into the building, thanking the doorman on my way in, and up the stairs to the apartment I live in with my mom.

It's cozy, I guess. It's pretty plain if you ask me, just a sofa, a coffee table, and television in the living room, a kitchen with a countertop bar and a small dining table with only two chairs. There's one bathroom and two bedrooms. My mom was nowhere to be seen when I unlocked and opened the door. I locked it behind me since it was late, then I headed straight to my bedroom to drop my stuff off. Opening the door I flipped on the light and smiled as the colors hit me. Because we're renting this place we aren't allowed to paint. Instead I bought colorful posters to decorate. There are fake flowers everywhere, not real, but very bright. The curtains were bright blue and I have a blue and green rug on the beige carpet. My bedspread is the most colorful thing in my room – it's blue, green, and yellow plaid, decorated with all sorts of throw pillows and a couple stuffed animals. The only other furniture in my room is a dresser. The top of it is covered with pictures of family and friends – my mom, dad, and Lucy mostly, but there are a couple of the cast of _So Random!_ and one of Chad holding flowers and a Mack Falls box set that he gave me when he came to the apartment to convince me that us dating would be a good idea.

I threw my bag down on the floor next to my bed and was about to lay down, exhausted when I noticed the white board on my bed with a note scrawled out in dry erase marker propped up against my pillows.

_Sonny, _it read, _Your grandma called today. Grandpa is in the hospital. I tried your cell but you didn't answer. I'm flying back to Wisconsin for a little while to help her. If you need me, call. Love you baby girl. –Mom_

_P.S. Enjoy having the place to yourself. Don't burn it down._

I laughed at the last part and dug my cow print phone out of my bag. Sure enough, I had a voicemail, three missed calls, and two text messages all from Mom. I must have put my phone on silent during rehearsal and never changed it back to ring.

Moving the white board onto the floor I finally laid down. I had the apartment to myself indefinitely? How could would this be? Then, turning the alarm on my cell phone on, I fell asleep planning all the things I would do.

XxXxX

**Author's Note: I promise, this is just the beginning. Sorry it's short but I wanted to see how it went over before I put more of it up. Chad will show up in the next chapter so let me know what you want to happen!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Wow! Thank you guys so much! I don't think I've ever gotten so many reviews for a story, not to mention favorites and alerts! I think I had almost 40 emails just for this one chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sonny With a Chance or the song Me, Myself, and Time or anything else that appears in this story that anyone would ever want to own… **

**xXxXx**

My alarm woke me up at six in the morning. "TGIF," I sighed to myself, stretching my arms above my head. I rubbed my eyes, brushing away the sleep. After a few minutes of reveling I the warm comfort of the bed before I peeled the covers away and stood up. I yawned once then went out to the kitchen for breakfast.

I pulled a bowl out of the cupboard and poured myself some Count Chocula cereal. The milk was poured directly into the bowl. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer I sat down at the bar to eat, flipping the TV on. I channel surfed for a minute then settled on 'Good Morning Hollywood.' I didn't pay much attention to the show, but it was nice to have the noise in the background. With Mom gone, the place seemed too quiet.

I ate my last spoonful of cereal and lifted the bowl to my lips, drinking what was left of the, now chocolaty milk. I left the television going as I rinsed my bowl out and put and the spoon in the dishwasher. Then it was shower time. I stripped off my clothes from the previous day that I had fallen asleep in and stepped into the warm water.

I sang cheerily as I showered. By the time I was done I was completely awake and, as my friends describe me, all too chipper for morning. I toweled off then wrapped the massive towel around me before I went back to my room. Since befriending Tawni I started to care a little more about how I dressed, so I ended up standing in front of my closet for a good ten minutes before deciding on dark washed skinny jeans, a purple tank top, and a black vest. A pair of high heeled boots completed the look and, as I looked in the mirror, I was proud – I looked good. Now I just had to fix my hair.

I headed back to the bathroom – all of the steam had dissipated so I could see the mirror. First things first I blow dried my hair, then, pulling out my curling iron I made the natural waves of my hair slightly more manageable. A purple headband kept most of my hair out of my face, allowing my bangs to frame my face just how I wanted them to.

Then it was back to my room one last time for jewelry and my bag of odds and ends that I carry with me back and forth between Condor Studios and home.

As I walked to the door I went through my mental checklist to be sure I would have everything I would need for the day ahead. Finally satisfied I stepped out the door, locking it behind me.

I drove to the studio, mentally preparing myself for the day of shooting that lay ahead of me. I still wasn't used to the live audience and today was really important. We were redoing our fans' favorite sketches. Everything from the 'Check It Out Girls' to my performance of 'Me, Myself, and Time' was going to be new and improved. The song was going to be the hardest for me. Stage fright isn't an issue for me until I have to sing so I hit the button to play the CD in my car. I'd placed my practice CD with the previous recording of my song in the car at the beginning of the week so that I could practice on the way to and from work. Now I turned the music up to lose myself in it and forget about the performance to come.

I wove through traffic singing:

_I'm over my head and I know it, I know it  
I'm doing my best not to show it, to show it  
Whatever it takes to be what I was meant to be  
I'm going to try  
'Cause I'm living the dream and I know it, I know it  
I'm trying my best not to blow it, to blow it  
And I know everything will be fine  
With me, myself, and time._

The CD looped through some of my favorite songs as well as some others that I had written. In the fifteen minutes that it took me to make it to the studio I had succeeded in psyching myself up to sing.

Closing and locking the door I headed into the studio, weaving through the hallways to the prop house still humming to myself. Just as I was about to round the last corner, though, who else came into view but Chad Dylan Cooper. I almost turned around and started heading in the opposite direction – how was I supposed to stay focused and calm when just thinking about his eyes made me lose my train of thought? Not to mention the incessant arguments that he and I can't escape every time we see each other. But I wasn't going to let him make me turn around – he wasn't that important – so I squared my shoulders and continued toward him.

I almost made it around the corner unnoticed but luck was not with me.

"Sonny?" Chad called, speeding up his pace just a little bit, although he'd never admit it.

"Chad." I sighed, turning to face him. I tried my best to avoid his eyes, trying to keep my cool.

"Trying to impress somebody, Monroe?" he asked, his trademark smirk in place on his lips. "And by somebody, I of course, mean me."

"In your dreams, Cooper," I shot back, glaring at him, but I somehow felt complimented at the same time. That was about as close to telling me that I looked nice as Chad would ever get.

I saw his eyes get a far off, dreamy look for a second, until he snapped out of it. "My dreams are much too important to have you make an appearance. Just like Mackenzie Falls is too important to have mediocre actors."

"Then why don't you leave me alone and go find someone more 'worthy' of your dreams. It was you who started this conversation anyway." Then, under my breath I added, loudly enough for Chad to hear, "I pity whoever it is who's in your dreams."

"Maybe I will leave. Forget I ever tried talking to you," Chad snapped, looking somewhat hurt. I tried to ignore that though.

"Fine," I retorted.

"Fine," Chad said, turning to walk away.

"Good," I called after him – our argument never complete until this part was finished.

"Good."

And with that last word, I turned on my heel and stormed down the hall to the prop house. Slamming the door behind me I plopped down on the sofa, crossing my arms. Grady and Nico looked up from their video game momentarily and then quickly back to their game when they saw my glare, deciding that it might be safer not to talk to me.

After five minutes of stewing I remembered what Chad had said and it almost seemed like he actually thought he was trying to be nice.

Sighing yet again, I stood up and walked to my dressing room. Tawni was already in there and when she saw my expression she knew immediately. "Run into Chad on your way here?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Yes," I replied, slightly disgruntled. "I was in such a good mood this morning. Why can't he just leave me alone?"

"Really, Sonny?" Tawni asked, looking up from her toenails. "Really?"

I was automatically reminded of the many times Chad had said those same words to me. My mind drifted until she continued, "It's obvious that Chad still has a thing for you, Sonny. He never shows up around here when you're gone."

"Maybe it's because he knows you guys all hate him."

"Sonny, Sonny, Sonny," Tawni clucked, shaking her head at me. She screwed the top of the bottle back on her nail polish and carefully made her way over to the couch to sit next to me. "You weren't here when Chad first started and I can tell you that over the years he just got more and more conceited. Right before you showed up, he wasn't even eating in the cafeteria. No one at _The Falls_ liked him all that much, at least, that's what Portlyn tells me."

"You and Portlyn were friends?" I interrupted, shocked. I had thought that the rivalry between _Mackenzie Falls _and _So Random! _was universal.

Tawni laughed. "We still are. I have my secrets, too. In fact, she and I are going shopping together in New York City this weekend."

"But I thought you guys all hate _The Falls_." I was so confused. Why had nobody told me that it wasn't completely necessary to hate Chad?

"We do hate _The Falls_, but that's just a television show. In general, we all despise Chad because of how he treats us. Some of the others followed his lead, but as long as you keep it on the DL, relationships with them are fine."

"So why do we keep up the rivalry?" I questioned, making a mental note to ask her later if Nico, Grady, or Zora had friends at _The Falls._

Tawni laughed again and told me, like it should have been obvious, "For the publicity, of course." She looked at me, daring me to interrupt her again. "May I continue with my history now?"

I clamped my mouth shut and mimed locking it and throwing the key over my shoulder.

"Thank you." Then, settling back into the sofa, she continued. "Where was I…?"

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: Alright guys, can we keep up the amount of reviews? Reviews definitely do make me update sooner… not to bribe you or anything… **

**I have a question for you all. I was hoping to make this chapter longer, and I could, but that means it will be longer between updates. If the chapters stay about this length you'll get around 2 a week probably. If I try to make the chapters longer, I'll probably only be updating once a week. Your choice, just let me know in a review.**

**Just like last time, if there's anything you'd like to see happen, I'd be glad to take it into consideration. It helps give me ideas of where to take this!**

**XOXO**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

**1****st**** - Sorry everybody! I know I said I'd update at least once a week, but I kind of started a new job that's been taking up more of my writing time. I'll be starting college again soon, but I'll try to keep up better.**

**2****nd****- Thank you everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted this story! It means so much to have such great support. You guys keep me writing! Love you all!**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own Sonny With a Chance so please don't sue me.**

**xXxXx**

"_May I continue with my history now?" Settling back into the sofa, Tawni continued. "Where was I…?"_

"Oh yeah! Chad had no friends. Of course, some of his cronies followed his lead and started making fun of us, but mostly, we just didn't speak to them and they didn't speak to us. Then you showed up."

"I think I know the rest of the story," I told her, standing up, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me back down.

"You said you wouldn't interrupt again!" she chided me sternly.

I hung my head like a reprimanded child and let her continue.

"You don't know the rest of the story, Sonny, because you didn't know the beginning."

"I'm sorry. Go on." Sure that hearing the beginning wouldn't change my view of the present, I settled in, my arms crossed, but listening.

With a look of annoyance on her face, she continued. "When you showed up, Chad was suddenly in the cafeteria every day. He stopped talking about himself _all_ the time."

I opened my mouth to interrupt again but the glare that Tawni shot me made me rethink.

"I didn't say he stopped talking about himself all together, but he talks about other things now too. And if what Port tells me is correct, what he talks about at _The Falls_, is you. Granted, it's about how annoying you are, but still, everyone knows he's just in denial. Anyway, he talks to his cast mates now, is actually friends with a few of them, and, as for us, well, we see more of Chad Dylan Cooper, now that you're here, in a day here at _So Random!_ than we did in the years I've been here before you showed up."

I waited for an extended amount of time to make certain that she was done talking before I spoke. "How can you be so sure that he's not doing all of this just to torment me?"

Tawni outright laughed when I said that. "Haven't you learned yet that Chad doesn't do anything he could pay someone else to do?" She stood up and started walking back to her mirror before stopping halfway and turning back to face me. "That's not to mention that it's obvious from the way he looks at you."

I rolled my eyes but didn't argue. It wouldn't get me anywhere, plus we were due to set soon. I told Tawni that I was going to costumes. She said she'd meet me there when her makeup was finished, and with that, the conversation was done, the topic of Chad dropped.

**xXxXx**

The Friday at work ended like any other. We finished the show, changed back into our regular clothes, and signed autographs until the last fan had left. After that, we were free to leave after a reminder from Marshall to be thinking of new skits for the week to come.

Normally the cast of _So Random!_ goes out to eat together after a show but everyone made some excuse to skip out, except for me. I knew Tawni's reason, though no one else did. Nico and Grady told me they were planning a weekend long movie marathon. Apologizing for not inviting me and saying they didn't think I'd enjoy their movie choices, they took off, leaving Zora and me alone in the prop house.

"Sorry, Sonny," Zora said, dashing the last of my hopes of doing something fun with my friends. "It's my grandparents' anniversary and there's no way I'm missing out on pranking my cousins. We're in the middle of a war and I'm down a battle. Things are about to get ugly."

"Fine," I sulked. "I finally get the apartment to myself and no one wants to party with me." Then, just to make sure Zora knew I was kidding, I smiled at her and told her, "Have fun. See you on Monday."

Zora walked out the door and all of a sudden, the realization hit me. I was going to be alone all weekend. I am not a person who is good at being alone; I freak out. But, because I have no choice, I gather my things and head out to the parking lot. I looked up to the sky as, for the first time in a long time, my eyes aren't blinded by sunlight. It looked like storms were building. Just my luck.

I unlock the doors, throw my things in the back, and get in. The music starts up as soon as I turn the ignition. Since I've listened to that CD enough for one week I eject it, and flip through my others. I pick out my favorite rock CD and crank the volume up loud. The bass blares and I'm tapping my hands on the steering wheel in time to the beat. I roll the windows down, put the car in reverse, and pull out.

By the time I got home, I was starving, so I ordered a pizza and flipped on the television until it got there. Of course, as I channel surfed, I came across _McKenzie Falls_. Some days it feels like that show is following me. I was about to flip the channel again when I realized this is the show that started Chad and I. It's the one that my mom was watching when I came home one night; the one that got me hooked and once again, I found myself shouting at the television: "Get on the horse, McKenzie!"

I was clutching the remote to my chest, my knees up to my chest, staring at the television, completely riveted, when someone knocked on the door. I jumped out of my skin. After letting myself calm down for a moment I set the remote down on the couch and grabbed the money I had set out.

I traded the cash for the pizza and breadsticks and watch as the pizza delivery man walks back down the hallway. I swung the door closed and put the chain back in place before setting the food on the kitchen counter. I got a plate and glass out of cupboards and dished myself up some supper before returning to the living room couch to eat.

I made it through three episodes before the lightning started. A few more minutes and the rain poured out of the sky, creating a strange pinging noise as the drops ricocheted off of my window. That combined with the thunder and the fact that I am a little scared of storms to begin with, made my heart start to race.

**Author's Note:**** Again, thanks for all the reviews. Hopefully I'll get another chapter up within the week to make up for lost time. In the meantime... Review! Please? I'd loe to know what you're thinking of how the story's going so far. :D**


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